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MUSIC
‘Titanic’ on Tour: It has been a hit in theaters and record stores, and now the music from “Titanic” will be coming to concert stages and television. Sony Music, which is pulling together plans for a sequel to the blockbuster soundtrack to coincide with the video release of the movie later this year, is planning a short concert tour and television special this fall to promote the record. The centerpiece of the recording, tour and TV show will be a 20- to 30-minute suite composed by James Horner, who is bringing together all the themes from his best-selling score into one piece of music that could be performed by orchestras. Also expected to be included are Irish dance music and chamber music that was heard in the runaway hit movie. The tour, led by Horner, would include stops in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris and a few other European cities, as well as possible concerts in Asia, said Peter Gelb, president of Sony Classical. The “Titanic” soundtrack, which has topped the U.S. album sales chart for six consecutive weeks, has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, including about 3.6 million copies in the United States.
Streisand Ailing: Barbra Streisand is recuperating from a bout with the flu that could keep her from performing with Celine Dion on Wednesday night at the Grammy Awards show in New York. “She is still running a fever and remains on medication,” her spokesman, Dick Guttman, said Monday in a statement, “but rehearsal times are being coordinated in the event that she recovers quickly enough to permit her participation.” Streisand, 55, is scheduled to join Dion to sing their Grammy-nominated hit duet “Tell Him.” Meanwhile, in other Grammy news, George Strait has pulled out of a performance slot on the show because of illness. He will be replaced by Vince Gill.
TELEVISION
Sorry, No Prize for Finding Mistake in This Item: “The Drew Carey Show” will celebrate April Fool’s Day by challenging viewers to find all the “mistakes and bizarre stuff” in the April 1 episode of the ABC sitcom and reward the winners with cash and prizes. Viewers are invited to tune in and track as many mistakes and misnomers as they can find. “It’ll be just like those ‘What’s wrong with this picture?’ contests we all loved as kids,” says Bruce Helford, the show’s executive producer. The grand prize is $25,000 plus a first-class trip for two to Los Angeles for a walk-on role on the show, and lunch with Carey. First prize includes a trip for two to Cleveland, where the series is set.
MOVIES
Brazilian Film Wins in Berlin: “Central do Brasil” (Central Station), a low-budget Brazilian road movie about a boy searching for his father, won the Golden Bear award for best feature at the Berlin Film Festival. Fernanda Montenegro, the female lead in the movie, won the Silver Bear award for best actress. Actor Samuel L. Jackson won for his performance as an arms dealer in “Jackie Brown.” “Wag the Dog,” a timely political satire about a U.S. president who stages a war to divert attention from a sex scandal, won a special jury prize, while Ireland’s Neil Jordan won for best director for “The Butcher Boy.”
STAGE
‘Dealer’s Choice’ Is New Choice: Patrick Marber’s “Dealer’s Choice” will replace the postponed “House Arrest” as the fifth play in the Mark Taper Forum season, in the April 16-May 31 slot. Robert Egan will direct the drama about an all-male poker game, previously produced by the Royal National Theatre and the Manhattan Theatre Club. . . . East West Players has postponed the opening of “Pacific Overtures,” which will launch its new mid-sized theater in Little Tokyo, from March 12-18. “The show’s ready but the theater’s not,” said a spokeswoman, citing delays in construction because of rainy weather. Previews will now begin on March 12, so the “Kids’ Week” discounts that had been slated for the March 7-8 previews will now move to March 21-22. An official dedication of the theater is still scheduled for March 3.
QUICK TAKES
“Titanic” joined Hanson and Buddy the Dog among the nominees for Nickelodeon’s 11th annual Kids Choice Awards, which will be presented April 4 at 8 p.m. in a ceremony that will be broadcast by the cable station. Nickelodeon will invite kids to vote in most of the 17 categories via an 800 number from March 16-21. . . . The small house in Liverpool where Paul McCartney grew up and wrote songs on the kitchen table with John Lennon is being opened to tourists in July, and the owners are looking for a live-in tour guide. The $15,900-a-year job was advertised Monday in London. . . . Marie Osmond, who is starring as Anna in “The King and I” on Broadway through Sunday, will also play the role at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood May 19-31, replacing the touring version’s previous Anna, Hayley Mills, who performed the role at the Orange County Performing Arts Center last year. . . . Cable’s Turner Classic Movies will celebrate actress Liz Taylor’s 66th birthday by airing a 24-hour marathon of her movies on Friday, beginning at 3 a.m. Among the movies to be screened are “National Velvet,” “Little Women,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Butterfield 8.” . . . “Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope,” a taped, celebrity-studded event honoring the actor, will air Sunday at 9 p.m. on NBC. The event also served as a benefit for the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which funds research into spinal cord injuries.
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